Metro Silicon Valley: Kitty In The Kitchen

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and sea-salt-sprinkled butterarespreadon the choppingblockislandnextto a chocolate terrinejust pulledfrom the oven. KittyGreenwald takesa sip of wineandtosses house-made olivesand freshlyshelledbeans for a saladand then spreadsa thickcaramel sauceon the dessertwhilethe Poguesand Wilcoplayfrom tinny iPodspeakersneara stackof cookbooks. +16

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+rs KITTYGREENWALD . Soon someof Montalvo'sartists-inresidencewander in to seewhat's cooking and offer to help setthe long communal table where they gather for evening meals.An easy,en&of-the-dayvibe fills the kitchen aseveryonerelaxesand looks forwardto dinner.Everyone,that is,except for Greenwald. Shefean that her leg of lamb is too dry and that the saladis too salty.Although shecooksall the mealsfor the Montalvo aftists,sheis not just a cook.Like the filmmakers,musicians,paintersand other artistswho spendtime in residency at Montalvo,Greenwaldis an artist-inresidenie,ioo. Onl-yinsteadof painting or music,her medium is food, and she's an exactingselFcritic.(For the record, the lamb and saladwere deliciousand devouredby everyone.)

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cooksonthesame levelasother artists in Montalvo's program residency Greenwald,29, is Montalvo'sculinary fellow Shecooksfor the residents,puts on specialevents,tends a vegetablegarden and makesforaysto local storesand farmersmarketsto shop.The rz-monthculinary fellowship program is the only one of its kind in the country and is now in its sixthyear.The culinaryfellowsplay a practicalrole in that they feedthe artists, running a but they alsogainexperience kitchen and managinga budget while punuingtheir own culinary interestsand passions in a beautifulsening. "I've neverbeen affordedsuch supponive luxury]' Greenwaldsays. fondof the small Sheis especially gardenthat shetends with the help ofvolunteers and stafflThe program encouragesits culinary fellows to source their food locallyand build menusaround

seasonal,sustainably produced ingredients. "It's wonderful playing in the kitchen with what comes up in the gardeni'she commentS. The culinary program was conceivedas a way to offer emerging chefs a chance to hone their skills in a residency setting and places cooks on the same level as other artists in Montalvo's residency program. Establishedin 1939,the artist residency program is the oldest on the West Coast and the third oldest in the United States. For six decadesthe program was housed in Montalvo's statuesque Mediterranean villa and three nearby cottiges, but in zoo4 the residency moved the Sally and Don Lucas Anists Program into ro mbdem, self-contained live-work studios nestled on a hillside above a seasonal creek. In additional to the freedom to roam around an anists'colony tucked into the Saratoga foothills, residents are offered performance and exhibition spaceon the Montalvo grounds as well as in Bay Area and national and intemational locations. Dinners are served five-nights a week and in the residency programs' communal building The culinary program has drawn aspiring chefs from all over-Itah Venezuela,Israel, England and the United States.While most residencyprogrdms at Montalvo last three months, the culinary residency program spans a fulI year and createsa senseofcontinuity for the other artists as they come and go; Kelly Sicat, Montalvo's director of programs, saysthat other artist colonies are interestedin the culinary residency"l know people are watching to seehow it developsJ' Culinary fellows must be recommended by the program'sadvisorycommittee, a panel that includes such big names in the food world such Alice Waters, author Michael Pollan and JessieCool, owner of Menlo Park's Flea Street Ca{6 and other Silicon Valley restaurants. In addition to. being nominated, Greenwald had to prepare a demonstration dinner for t1le committee, a meal that included a roasted beet and arugrrla salad, poached cod with a lemon verbena broth, blackeyed peas and a lime-apple sorbet. Apparently, the committee liked what they ate. Greenwald has been in residence at Montalvo since October. Greenwald, who is originally from Washington, D.C., was involved in making documentaries when she started catering on the side. She discovered she enjoyed making food more than making films, so she decidedto launch into cooking full time. She had no formal training but threw herselfher culinary education and traveled to Europe where she cooked in Italy, Ponugal and France. She developed a panicularinterest in pastry and started a .+19

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ero KITTYGREENWALD food column in Portugal. But after z ilz yearsabroad, she decided it was time to come back to the United States.Soon after, she Ieamed about the Montalvo culinary program. "ICs a nice place to be cooking againl' she says."It gives me a certain amount of freedom to learn the skills I need and to ger betterl'

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in particular interest pastryandstarted a foodcolunnn in l Portuga ICs a pretty sweet gig, but the culinary fellows arguably have it tougher than the other.residents.While performance and visual artists often collaborate on their work with other fellows and occasionally let others seewhat they're working on, Greenwald'swork is on display five times a week. But the fellows can tailor their residencyto suit their inrerests,and hers have taken her into recipe development and high-profile,ofisite food eventslike last year's Slow Food Nation. She saysthat some nights what she preparesis just dinner, while other meals are more inspired. It's a tricky balance.She must serve her fellow fellows dinner, but she'salso motivated to explore her own interests.Ultimately, she saysshe cooks to pleaseherself "I think I have a tougher skin'than I used tol'Greenwald says."If trscrew up [a meal], then it's OK..If I worried more about thaq this fellowship would feel very ' small. In general,it's allowed me to do what I want, and it s up to the residentsif they want to enjoy it3'